OMV Increases Production in 1Q 2016

OMV Aktiengesellschaft revealed Thursday in its first quarter 2016 trading statement that its hydrocarbon production in 1Q increased by 1 percent over the previous quarter to 312,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The increase in output “reflect[ed] a full quarter of production at Edvard Grieg in Norway”, according to a brief research note from FirstEnergy that was sent to Rigzone. In the fourth quarter of 2015, the Edvard Grieg field was on-stream for just one month.

OMV’s trading statement also revealed that sales volumes were 5 percent lower compared to the previous quarter “primarily as a result of lower gas sales in Austria due to lower customer nominations, lower sales volumes in Romania, and in Norway due to lifting schedules”. Exploration expenses in the quarter decreased compared to 4Q 2015 to approximately $41.7 million (EUR 37 million) mainly due to “lower exploration activities and the absence of write-offs of wells in 1Q 2016,” according to OMV.

Commenting on its performance over the latest quarter, an OMV statement in the company’s 1Q 2016 trading statement said:

“Lower oil and gas prices had a negative impact on the 1Q 2016 performance. This was partly compensated by a positive effect in the consolidation line of approximately $45.1 million (EUR 40 million), predominantly in OMV Petrom, since the decline of crude oil and natural gas prices as well as volumes on stock resulted in a decreased unrealized profit on stock vs. the previous quarter.”

OMV’s total hydrocarbon production was 303,000 boepd in the first quarter of 2015, 184,000 of which was attributable to OMV Petrom Group, a subsidiary of the company based in Romania. OMV Petrom’s share of the 1Q 2016 production was 175,000 boepd.

Earlier this month, OMV announced that the Wisting Central II horizontal appraisal well in the Barents Sea achieved flow rates of over 5,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The well, which was drilled in the Wisting field offshore Norway, aimed to confirm the potential of the discovery by proving the presence of hydrocarbons in the undrilled Wisting Central South and Central West segments.

Wisting Central II also sought to prove the technical concept of long-reach horizontal wells in a shallow reservoir, about 820 feet below the seabed. The possibility to drill such wells is needed to establish the basis for a viable development of the Wisting discovery. The well results are expected to provide an increase of in-place volumes in the Central South and Central West segments, and further reduce the overall uncertainty of contingent resources in PL537.

Johann Pleininger, OMV executive board member responsible for Upstream, said in a company statement released April 6:

"OMV is very satisfied with the well test results, which are promising. This well is an important milestone towards a future field development on Wisting.”

OMV (Norge) AS holds a 25 percent operated interest in the PL537 license. Joint venture partners Petoro AS, Idemitsu and Tullow Oil plc each hold a 20 percent interest, with Statoil ASA holding the remaining 15 percent.



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